SPORTS
Big Ten championship still up in the air
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Also by Roger Anderson:
- Badgers take Big Ten lead to Illinois (February 18, 2004)
- Guards allow Wildcats to pounce (February 9, 2004)
- SEC joins the 21st century (December 4, 2003)
- 'Lee'ving it all behind (December 9, 2003)
- Saying goodbye to the life (December 11, 2003)
Related Stories:
- Big Ten Intro (January 21, 2002)
- Fate of title entirely in Badgers' hands (February 25, 2003)
- Women's Big Ten soccer tournament heating up (October 25, 2002)
- Release of Division I-A standings delayed (October 10, 2001)
- BCS to release poll one week late (October 10, 2001)
by Roger Anderson
Tuesday, November 13, 2001
As college football teams approach their final games of the season, the Big Ten title is still up for grabs.
With Michigan and Illinois tied atop the conference standings with records of 5-1 in the Big Ten and Ohio State (4-2) able to control its own destiny, this season once again promises to come down to the final game.
Without the prominent national coverage or the hype that surrounded many other Big Ten front-runners, Illinois can assure itself a tie for the Big Ten title if it wins the remainder of its games. Meanwhile, Michigan, the Big Ten’s top representative nationally (No. 11 in the AP, Coaches, and BCS polls), will attempt to bring yet another conference championship back to Ann Arbor.
Ohio State will play both teams ahead of it in the standings and undoubtedly represents the closeness between the top and bottom in the conference standings. On any given day any one team can beat another in this conference, and that is due in large part to the experience and leadership that every school exemplifies.
“As we wind this season down we have a lot at stake” said Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr.
Every team in the conference has more to lose now than they did even a week ago.
Linebackers called on for leadership: Those teams fighting for a conference title have an obvious goal, but some athletes are playing for the pride that comes after five years of hard work and dedication. The linebacker core at almost every Big Ten school seems to portray this pride with every bone-crushing tackle.
Linebackers and quarterbacks have emerged from the practice fields as the experienced leaders of the team. It is their ability to change the outcome of a game that has made these seemingly opposite men the ones who have taken charge.
As linebackers become more and more athletic and continue to make unexpected plays from their position, they will surface as a key piece to the puzzle of winning football games.
“You are seeing a more athletic-type linebacker,” said Purdue head coach Joe Tiller.
While linebackers have come to lead the team’s defenses, it is still the quarterback that is putting points on the board.
“The quarterback has to be the leader on the field,” said Illinois head coach Ron Turner.
Hoos-ier MVP?: As the coaches prepare to vote for the Big Ten most valuable player, one player’s name keeps coming up: Antwaan Randle El. The multi-talented quarterback from Indiana has garnered high accolades from every coach who has had the unenviable task of trying to stop him.
“He’s spectacular. I don’t know if we’ve played against a better athlete,” said Penn State head coach Joe Paterno.
Every coach in the conference will vote for their choice as conference MVP was this season, and although Randel El appears to be the obvious choice, the fact that he plays on a losing team (3-5) may lead some coaches toward a different quarterback.
“I think it is between him and Kurt Kittner,” Tiller said.
Kittner is leading his Illinois team toward a conference championship, but it is yet to be decided if a team’s number of wins will determine the conference MVP.
“[The MVP is the player] who had the most to do with the success of any one particular team,” Paterno said.
